Workers remove rocks and debris from I-84 landslide

Both eastbound lanes of Interstate-84 reopened from Troutdale through to Hood River at 1 p.m. Monday, ending the days-long detour that forced traffic onto Washington state’s Highway 14.

Contractors working for the Oregon Department of Transportation removed more than 3,000 cubic yards of rock and debris from the landslide at milepost 61, three miles west of Hood River, that blocked the eastbound lanes Wednesday evening, Feb. 12. That’s more than 300 dumptruck loads.

While ODOT is allowing traffic to pass through the Columbia River Gorge on Interstate 84, travelers are being warned of the possibility of further landslides, rockslides and mudslides due to sodden hillsides and cliff faces after all the heavy rain the gorge has seen in the past few days.

Both eastbound lanes and one westbound lane were closed when the landslide dumped the rock and debris across the interstate about three miles west of Hood River on Wednesday.

The westbound lane reopened at about 1:15 p.m. Sunday, ODOT officials said.

Then, one lane of Interstate 84 eastbound reopened Monday morning from Troutdale to exit 62 in Hood River. And both lanes were reopened by early Monday afternoon.